Waist belt for absorbent articles

ABSTRACT

A waist belt for supporting disposable-type absorbent articles ( 7 ), such as incontinence guards or diapers which comprise a front part, a rear part and an intermediate crotch part, wherein the belt can be fastened to the rear part of the article and when fastened to the rear part of the article comprises two front portions ( 3, 4 ) which project out laterally from mutually opposing side edges of the rear part of the article and which can be fastened together through the medium of mechanical fastener elements ( 12, 14 ) to form a waist band and which taper towards their respective ends over at least a substantial part of their lengths. Each of the front portions includes first fastener elements ( 12, 13 ) which are disposed on the outside of the belt, i.e. that side which faces outwardly in relation to the wearer&#39;s body in use, and which extend at least over essentially the whole of the tapering portions of the front portions ( 10, 11 ) along the longitudinal symmetry lines thereof. A second fastener element ( 14 ) is provided on the inside of one of the front portions at the end part thereof and can be fastened to the first fastener element on the other front portion along a plurality of mutually spaced points along the longitudinal symmetry line of the other front portion.

1. The present invention relates to a waist belt for supportingdisposable-type absorbent articles, such as incontinence guards ordiapers which comprise a front part, a rear part and an intermediatecrotch part, wherein the belt can be fastened to the rear part of thearticle and when fastened to the rear part of the article comprises twofront portions which project out laterally from mutually opposing sideedges of the rear part of said article and which can be fastenedtogether through the medium of mechanical fastener elements to form awaist band and which taper towards their respective ends over at least asubstantial part of their lengths. The invention also relates to amethod of manufacturing such a belt.

2. A waist belt of the type to which the invention refers is known fromApplicant's Swedish Application No. 9301631-9. The waist belt describedin this publication is relatively expensive to produce, because theloop-bearing material intended for coaction with the hook-bearing meansextends over the full extent of the outer surface of the belt, therewithresulting in high material costs.

3. The main object of the present invention is to reduce the cost ofmanufacturing a waist belt of this kind, so that a well-functioningdisposable waist belt can be produced at a reasonable price.

4. EP-A2-0,528,282 teaches a diaper in which one end of the outer casingsheets is extended laterally to form extended flaps which by forming awaist band enable the diaper to be placed on a baby with the baby in astanding position. The flaps include mechanical fastener elements whichcan be fastened to one another and to the side-portions of opposing endsof the diaper. The extended flaps, however, do not support the opposingend of the diaper, which is fastened instead to the side-portions ofthat diaper end which includes the extended flaps, in a manner whichmakes it difficult for the baby to reach the fastener points. Theproblem which the present invention intends to solve is neithermentioned nor indicated in this publication.

5. This object is achieved in accordance with the present invention witha waist belt of the aforedefined kind which is characterized in thateach of the front portions includes first fastener elements which aredisposed on the outside of the belt, i.e. that side which facesoutwardly in relation to the wearer's body in use, and which extend atleast over essentially the whole of the tapering portions of the frontportions along the longitudinal symmetry lines thereof, and in that asecond fastener element is provided on the inside of one of the frontportions at the end part thereof and which can be fastened to the firstfastener element on the other front portion along a plurality ofmutually spaced points in the extension of the longitudinal symmetryline of said other front portion. Such a belt can be producedessentially with no waste, and by using separate first fastener elementsand placing said elements along the longitudinal symmetry line of thewaist belt, it is possible to use fastener elements of optimal width.Furthermore, the belt is easy to handle, by virtue of the fact that thesecond fastener element is placed at the end portion where the belt isnarrowest. This greatly reduces the risk of the first and the secondfastener elements being displaced relative to one another in thetransverse direction when putting on the belt.

6. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first fastenerelements are spaced from the longitudinal edges of the front portionalong at least the greatest part of the length of said elements. Thefirst fastener elements are rectangular in shape and have a width ofbetween 20-150 mm, preferably between 30-50 mm. The first fastenerelements are produced from a loop-bearing material and the secondfastener elements from a hook-bearing material. The front portions arejoined firmly to the side-portions of the rear part of an absorbentarticle and each include a rectangular part of uniform width which isattached to a side-portion of the rear part of an absorbent article, anda uniformly tapering part which projects out from the rectangular parton said front portion and has a greatest width which is smaller than thewidth of the rectangular part.

7. The invention also relates to a method of producing taperingwaist-belt front portion with a starting point from a travelling web ofmaterial, characterized by placing elongated first fastener elements onand fastening said elements to the web in a mutually sequential row andat a given distance apart with the longitudinal axes of said elementsextending perpendicularly to the direction of web travel; cutting theweb in accordance with a cutting pattern which includes mutuallyopposing rows of short-side cuts along each alternate short side of thefirst fastener elements, said rows being displaced relative to oneanother in the direction of web travel so that the cuts relating tomutually adjacent first fastener elements will be located along mutuallyopposing short sides, cuts which extend perpendicularly to the directionof web travel and which extend from the centre of each short-side cut ina direction away from the fastener elements, and connecting cuts whichconnect the ends of said mutually opposing short-side cuts, whereinsecond fastener elements intended for coaction with the first fastenerelements are fastened to the material web in a row on the side that isopposite to the first fastener elements and centrally opposite those endparts of the first fastener elements that face towards one of the rowsof short-side cuts, either before or after attaching the first fastenerelements. The method enables front portions intended for integration inthe rear part of an incontinence guard or diaper to be produced withpractically no waste.

8. The invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which

9.FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of aninventive waist belt and a coacting incontinence guard;

10.FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of aninventive waist belt;

11.FIGS. 3-6 illustrate different embodiments of a waist belt frontportion;

12.FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of apparatus for producing frontportions of a waist belt of the kind illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3; and

13.FIG. 8 is a sectioned view of a web of material that has passedthrough the apparatus shown in FIG. 7.

14. The waist belt 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is made of a flexiblematerial and includes a rear portion 2 and two front portions 3, 4. Therear portion 2 carries on the outside thereof two mechanical fastenerelements 5, 6 for coaction with complementary fastener elements on therear part of an incontinence guard 7. The mutually complementarymechanical fastener elements may comprise pieces of hook-bearing andloop-bearing material, such as some type of touch and close fasteners orlike fasteners. The hook fasteners are preferably mounted on theincontinence guard and the loop fasteners on the belt.

15. The waist-belt front portions 3, 4 include a relatively broad rearpart 8 and 9 respectively, which connect with the rear portions andstretch over the hips of the wearer in use. Tapering or narrowingportions 10 and 11 extend from respective rear parts. Narrow, elongatedand rectangular fastener elements 12 and 13 extend along thelongitudinal symmetry lines of the tapering portions 10, 11, thesefastener elements preferably comprising loop-bearing material. Afastener element 14 complementary to the fastener element 12, preferablya hook-bearing fastener element, is attached to the inside of the frontportion 11 at the end part thereof. FIG. 1 shows the belt when fastenedtogether, i.e. with the fastener element 14 in engagement with thefastener element 12. As will be understood, because the element 12extends along substantially the full length of the tapering part 10, theillustrated waist belt can be adjusted to fit around the waist of manyusers having mutually different waist sizes.

16. The combination of waist belt 1 and incontinence guard 7 illustratedin FIG. 1 is placed on a standing user in the following way.

17. The rear edge part of the incontinence guard 7 is first attached tothe rear portion of the waist belt through the mutual coaction offastener elements on the incontinence guard 7 and the belt 1. In theFIG. 1 embodiment, that part of the casing sheet which lies outwardly ofthe absorbent body 15 is attached to the outside of the belt with theaid of the belt fastener elements 5, 6. Naturally, the fastener elements5, 6 may be placed on the inside of the belt and the correspondingfastener elements of the incontinence guard on the outside of therear-edge part, this latter alternative being suitable when those partsof the casing sheets that lie outside the absorbent body are narrowerthan the rear part of the belt. In the case of the illustratedembodiment, the rear part of the incontinence guard 7 may be attached tothe rear part of the waist belt before passing or after having passedthe front portions 3, 4 of the belt around the user's waist and fastenedsaid portions together with the aid of the fastener elements 12, 14.

18. When the waist belt has been fastened around the wearer's waist andthe incontinence guard has been fastened to the rear-edge part of thebelt, the downwardly hanging front portion is brought forwards betweenthe wearer's legs and then upwards so that its front edge will lie levelwith the upper edge of the waist belt, whereafter the fastener elements16, 17 on the inside of the front part of the incontinence guard arepressed into fastening abutment with the fastener elements 12, 13 on thetapering parts 10, 11 of the front portions of the belt 1.

19. After the front part of the incontinence guard has been fastened tothe waist belt, that part of the waist belt which is located between therespective attachment points 5, 6 and 16, 17 on the rear-edge part andfront-edge part of the incontinence guard has no actual function, sincethe front-edge parts and rear-edge parts of the incontinence guard areable to function as parts of a waist band just as well as correspondingparts of the waist belt. Consequently, the strength of the connection12, 14 need only be sufficient to hold the rear part of the incontinenceguard in place as the incontinence guard and waist belt are put on.Thus, it is only necessary to dimension the fastener elements 16, 17 toprovide an optimal strength in combination with the fastener elements12, 13. This enables the fastener element 14 to be given smallerdimensions, therewith enabling narrow fastener elements 12, 13 to beused. The length of the fastener elements 16, 17, i.e. their extensionin the longitudinal direction of the fastener elements 12, 13, may beadapted so as to obtain the requisite strength in the connections 12, 16and 13, 17 respectively. FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment which includestwo fastener elements on respective rear-edge and front-edge portions ofthe incontinence guard 7. Because the fastener elements 12, 13 on thefront portions of the waist belt extend over essentially the full lengthof the tapering portions 10, 11, it is possible to mount more than twofastener elements on the front part of the incontinence guard, saidelements being able to coact with the fastener elements 12, 13irrespective of the extent to which the belt portions 10, 11 overlap oneanother in accordance with the different waist sizes of differentwearers.

20. The invention thus provides a waist belt which is sufficiently broadin the hip region to afford good comfort to the wearer, but which tapersat its front portions and therewith affords a saving in material incomparison with earlier known belts of this kind that have generallyuniform widths. In comparison with belts that are provided withloop-bearing material over the whole of their extension, the inventivebelt further saves in cost because only parts of the belt are providedwith loop-bearing material. This enables the belt to be produced from aninexpensive plastic material, such as polyethylene for instance.Furthermore, the loop-bearing material and the belt material may bechosen optimally for their respective functions, independently of eachother.

21. The mutually coacting fastener elements are preferably comprised ofhook-bearing material and loop-bearing material of the Velcro® fastenertype. The loop-bearing material will suitably have a width of between20-150 mm, preferably between 30-50 mm. The ends of the taperingportions of the front portions of the waist belt have essentially thesame width as the loop-bearing material. This reduces the risk of thehook-bearing element on one of the front portions being incorrectlypositioned when being fastened to a coacting fastener element on theother of said front portions. The elongated loop-bearing material willhave a length of between 200-800 mm, preferably between 300-440 mm.

22.FIG. 2 illustrates schematically a second embodiment of a waist beltintegrated in an incontinence guard 7′. The sole difference between thiswaist belt and the belt 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is that the rear part ofthe belt is comprised of the rear-edge part of the incontinence guard.Those components of the FIG. 2 embodiment which find correspondence withthe components of the FIG. 1 embodiment have been identified with thesame reference signs although with the addition of a prime. The frontportions 3′, 4′ of the waist belt are thus fastened directly to the sideedges of the rear-part of the incontinence guard, e.g. glued orultrasonically welded thereto. In other regards, the front portions ofthe waist belt shown in FIG. 2 are identical with the front portionsshown in FIG. 1 and reference is made to the description of theseportions with regard to the FIG. 2 embodiment. FIG. 3 illustrates afront portion 4′ in larger scale.

23. In the described embodiments, the front portions of a waist belttaper at first instantaneously and thereafter continuously to the endsof said portions. Although this configuration is preferred formanufacturing reasons of a technical nature, other configurations areconceivable. FIGS. 4-6 illustrate respectively feasible, although notpreferred, configurations.

24. A preferred method of producing the front portions of a waist beltaccording to FIGS. 2 and 3 will now be described with reference to FIGS.7 and 8.

25. A web 18 of flexible material, e.g. 1 mm thick nonwoven, is unreeledfrom a storage reel R and moved through two stations A and B with theaid of conveyor means (not shown), e.g. an endless belt conveyor.Elongated, rectangular strips 19 of fastener element material are placedon the web in station A with the longitudinal axes of said stripsextending at right angles to the direction of web travel and at aspecific distance apart, said strips being fastened to the web, e.g.glued thereto. The web is cut in station B in accordance with arepetitive cutting pattern. FIG. 8 illustrates from above a section of aweb 18 that has passed through station B. As will be seen from FIG. 8,the cutting pattern includes two rows of short-side cuts S1, S2, each ofwhich extends along an alternate short side of the strips 19 at a slightdistance therefrom and on opposite sides of the strips 19. In the caseillustrated in FIG. 8, the row of short-side cuts S1 extend on the leftside of the strips 19, whereas the row of short-side cuts S2 extend onthe right side of the strips. The rows of short-side cuts S1, S2 arealso displaced relative to one another, such that each strip 19 willhave a short-side cut S1 or S2 along one of its short sides. The ends ofmutually adjacent short-side cuts S1, S2 are joined together by cuts S3,S4. The cutting pattern also includes transverse cuts S5, S6 extendingfrom the centre of each short-side cut and out to the nearest long edgeof the web 18. As will be seen from FIG. 8, cutting of the web in theaforedescribed manner results in the formation of front portions 3′, 4′of the waist belt shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

26. Rows of fastener elements complementary to the fastener elementstrips 19 are attached in some suitable manner to the underside of theweb 18 centrally opposite the end-parts of those ends of the stripsalong which short-side cuts S1 extend.

27. The aforedescribed method thus enables the front portions of a waistbelt of the kind illustrated in FIG. 2 to be formed in a simple mannerand essentially without waste, this latter contributing to the fact thatsuch front portions can be produced relatively cheaply.

28. It will be understood that the aforedescribed method can be modifiedwithin the scope of the invention. For instance, the short-side cuts S1,S2 may be curved when desiring front portions with rounded ends.Further, the short-side cuts may extend longitudinally beyond the shortsides of the strips when desiring the cuts S3, S4 to be located furtheraway from the longitudinal edges of the strips 19 in those strip endparts that have short-side cuts along the short sides. The strip shortsides need not be straight, but may alternatively be curved ortriangular in shape. Such shapes are included by the term rectangularused in the Claims. The invention is therefore restricted solely by thecontents of the following Claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A waist belt for supporting a disposableabsorbent article having a front part, a rear part and an intermediatecrotch part, wherein the belt can be fastened to the rear part of thearticle and when fastened to the rear part of the article comprises twofront portions which project out laterally from mutually opposing sideedges of the rear part of said article and which can be fastenedtogether with mechanical fastener elements to form a waist band, saidfront portions tapering towards their respective ends to form taperingportions over at least a substantial part of their lengths; wherein eachof the front portions includes first fastener elements which aredisposed on an outer side of the belt, which in use faces outwardly inrelation to a wearer's body, and which extend at least over essentiallythe whole of the tapering portions along longitudinal symmetry lines ofthe front portions, said first fastener elements being spaced fromlongitudinal edges of the front portions by an area free of fastenerelements at least along a major part of the length of said fastenerelements; and a second fastener element is provided on the inside of oneof the front parts at the end portion thereof, said second fastenerelement being structured and arranged to be fastened to the firstfastener element on the other front portion along a plurality ofmutually spaced points along the longitudinal symmetry line of saidother front portion.
 2. The waist belt according to claim 1 , whereinthe first fastener elements are rectangular in shape and have a width ofbetween 20-150 mm.
 3. The waist belt according to claim 2 , wherein thefirst fastener elements have a width between 30-50 mm.
 4. The waist beltaccording to claim 1 , wherein the first fastener elements are made of aloop-bearing material and the second fastener element is made of ahook-bearing material.
 5. The waist belt according to claim 1 , whereinthe front portions are firmly connected to side portions of the rearpart of an absorbent article.
 6. The waist belt according to claim 5 ,wherein each of the front portions includes a rectangular part ofuniform width which is fastened to a side portion of the rear part of anabsorbent article, and to a respective uniformly tapering portion whichprojects out from the rectangular part of the front portion, saidtapering portion having a greatest width which is smaller than the widthof the rectangular part.